Heart surgeons at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics recently performed Iowa's first mitral valve repair using a minimally invasive technique.
Traditional mitral valve repair involves a large incision and weeks of recovery. But recently, surgeons with UI Hospitals and Clinics performed the first mitral valve repair using a less invasive technique. It means a shorter stay in the hospital and a quicker recovery for patients.
Nancy Ryan says she can't wait to get home to play with her grandchildren. Her heart condition worsened recently, making it difficult to be active.
"I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move off of my couch. And that's no life," says Nancy.
Nancy was diagnosed with a faulty mitral valve, which handles the in-flow of blood for the left side of her heart. So Jeffrey Everett, M.D., UI cardiothoracic surgeon, suggested a new technique to repair the valve.
Using University of Iowa's Da Vinci robotic surgery system, surgeons sit at a computer console and maneuver tiny instruments through small incisions in the patient. Nancy is the first patient in Iowa to have mitral valve repair done using this technique.
"From a surgeon's perspective, you're doing the same operation that you're doing with the open, so I don't think you're compromising anything. And, in fact, some of the exposure is actually easier with the magnification of the camera and the robotic arms. Everything is enlarged. From a technical standpoint, there are certain aspects that may even be easier because of the robotics," says Everett.
"Like I told the doctor - I feel 100 percent better. He's given me my life back," says Nancy.
For Nancy, that means more time to spend with her grandchildren - and less time worrying about her heart.
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